Word: tone
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...Albee notes in the foreword, "Alan's prose does not change its tone no matter the event, and if you are rushing through the inconsequential you may very well miss the momentous." There is plenty of both. The opening chapters are acutely felt remembrances of childhood as a Jewish outsider, the son of two physicians, in revolutionary Russia and then in rural America. Other children mockingly asked whether he had had pencils in "Rooshia"; a teacher sneered that he of all people should know the meaning of "usury." Arresting as these cherished grievances are, Schneider does little to explain...
...score is the work of a master. The irresistible Doretta's Dream, the opera's most famous aria, is sung first by the poet Prunier, a sadder, wiser Rodolfo, whose prominence at the opera's beginning sets the tone for what is to come. The gradual transformation of the lovers' duet into a full-blown chorus in the second act is a magical lyric moment. There is even wit: a sly quote from Richard Strauss's Salome when Prunier describes his ideal woman, and a love duet that deliberately recalls the end of the first act of La Boh?...
...strongly the feelings and relationships of the characters," Frayn notes, "and also the narrative. That has something to do with the audience. Americans seem much more amused by the twists and turns of the plot." This emphasis on emotion marks a deliberate departure from Frayn's customarily wry, bemused tone. He explains, "All humorous writing is detached. What makes it comic is a refusal to be involved with the feelings of the characters. There is rather less of that approach in Benefactors...
...tent. Horowitz could always do anything he wanted at the keyboard, whether pounding out octaves or rippling off scales in thirds. But mere technique is not enough. Just as Luciano Pavarotti's high notes, in the tenor's prime several years ago, were backed up by a gorgeous liquid tone and a supple sense of phrasing, so Horowitz's pianism offers many subtleties: the absolute independence of each finger, which makes it sound as though he were playing with three hands, and a rainbow tonal palette that realizes Liszt's ideal of turning the piano into an 88-key orchestra...
Whether such matters of style and tone affect CBS's ratings is hard to say. News executives argue that many factors go into the ups and downs of ratings. CBS's news-gathering staff is still regarded as the best in depth of talent. In the past year the network has been buffeted by a takeover attempt, an embarrassing libel trial and distracting ideological attacks. The gung-ho Dan Rather believes "all of this has made us tougher, better, more mature." Still, a little anxiety might not hurt...